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ASSESSING DICTIONARIES IN ASIAN EFL USAGE

ASSESSING DICTIONARIES IN ASIAN EFL USAGE

| March 31, 2003

The primary subject of this work is the dictionary entitled, “Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition” hereafter referred to simply as Merriam’s. Further reference by way of a comparison, which is essential to evaluate carefully the primary work, will be made to the “Longman English-English-Korean Dictionary,” hereafter referred to as Longman’s, and the “Collin’s Concise Dictionary,” hereinafter referred to as Collin’s.

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Dictionaries Usage in EFL and Learner Development

Dictionaries Usage in EFL and Learner Development

| March 31, 2003

Sinclair’s new style of presenting lexicographical information is by offering examples from actual texts as well as omitting rules or ideas about words that are shown to be in error. A simple exercise using the COBUILD dictionary in class, as described by Boyce (in Nation 1994: 191) is only one step in familiarizing learners …

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English Only (EO) In The Classroom: Time For a Reality Check?

English Only (EO) In The Classroom: Time For a Reality Check?

| December 1, 2002

That the EO question, at times, has been framed in “all or nothing” views, has appeared to take away from a common sense approach. There may be a more middle ground area, at least as a point of departure towards meeting the requirements of the English language teaching curriculum.

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ASIANEFL RESEARCH PROTOCOLS

ASIANEFL RESEARCH PROTOCOLS

| December 1, 2002

The search for ‘truth’ is pervading educational research. In particular, and limiting research to the EFL/ESL sphere, theories and research results abound proving and disproving and altering that truth. The field of research has been likened to the judicial adversarial system where results are argued over.

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L1 / L2 Learning in Children: Explicitly Reframed

L1 / L2 Learning in Children: Explicitly Reframed

| September 1, 2002

Some scholars have tried to frame second language acquisition (SLA) within children as a neat and clean proposition. The question for examination is whether children learn a second language implicitly (rather than explicitly) in the same way they acquire it in L1 (Fromkin et al., 1999, 347).

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Courtroom English

Courtroom English

| September 1, 2002

Consider the following English case recorded in the English law journals. A seaman who was a witness in the case was being cross-examined. He was asked if he knew the plaintiff. The seaman said he did not know what the word ‘plaintiff’ meant and could not answer the question.

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The Business of Words; Whose domain?

The Business of Words; Whose domain?

| September 1, 2002

“Politicians frame words.
Lawyers play with words.
Judges interpret words.
Teachers teach words!”

Both the teaching of English and the practice of law have one thing in common. They both concentrate on ‘words.’

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The Chinese Learner: A Neo Globalized Learner – or the Re-Birth or an Old Culture

The Chinese Learner: A Neo Globalized Learner – or the Re-Birth or an Old Culture

| June 30, 2002

What is the “Chinese learner and are there social phenomena acting upon this entity that is changing the way the Chinese government determine future educational curricula to meet China’s changing needs? In this work Chinese learner is basically defined as a Chinese national living within mainland China who falls inside the broad category of ‘student.’

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Korea. A cross cultural communication analyzed

Korea. A cross cultural communication analyzed

| June 30, 2002

This work will analyze cross-cultural communications between Korean native speakers and myself, and will review the literature to date. I have chosen Koreans as the report emanates from Pusan, Korea, an international port city of some 4 million Koreans. Pusan Korean is spoken, and said by all, to be a ‘vulgar’ dialect of Korean.

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The Pervading Influence of Neo- Confucianism on the Korean Education System

The Pervading Influence of Neo- Confucianism on the Korean Education System

| June 30, 2002

Modern Korean education is based on two competing systems, that given by the government and that given by private enterprise. The later clearly dominates the students life from elementary school through to University studies. Hitherto rote learning had characterized the Korean education system, with students rewarded for pure memory as opposed to creativity.

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